Devil Take The Hindmost
by Starkid Xanny
Summary: When Sam and Blaine decide that the Warblers might not be all they claim to be after Sectionals, Blaine decides to ask for a little outside help to get through to Hunter. AU companion piece to Seasons of Love.


Roxie sat quietly in the study. There were only two other girls in the room, neither paying much attention to the curly-haired brunette as she placed the end of her pen in her mouth, texting under the table. Her lips were drawn tight together, pursed as though she were irritated about something. Which she just so happened to be.

Crawford Country Day was a very... late academy. Classes were held later than most. Hell, most classes let out late as it was. And, fun fact, Crawford was the last school in the region to open up a glee club. The Crawford Dynamiques. And Roxie was part of it. Well, as part of it as she could be with a captain like senior student Elise. She was an abrasive girl with only two interests: herself and other girls. She was the kind of girl that would lock the door to the downstairs girls room and smoke by herself, or with whatever girls would look for her company, rather than go to class. Where Roxie always was. Elise had a keen, shallow interest in Roxie. The doe-eyed girl was quite certain that was the only reason she hadn't been let go from the group.

And Elise was exactly who Roxie was waiting on. Elise and the rest of the Dynamiques. Practice was meant to begin at 4pm sharp. It was now nearly 5pm, and all Roxie wanted to do was go back to her dorm, take a long shower, Skype with Blaine, and go to bed. But no, she couldn't even have that. With a frustrated grumble, Roxie stood up, slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, and stormed over to the doorway.

"Leaving already?" said a voice down the turn of the hall. Roxie glanced, seeing Elise making her way toward the study, being followed by the rest of the Dynamiques. She was a sight to see, but only if you'd never seen it before. She was long and leggy, with dark, almost black hair flowing down to her ribcage. With her pleated skirt rolled up above her knees and the group of girls following her, she looked like the leader of a gang. Though the school uniforms seemed to down the threat. "Practice hasn't even begun, sweetheart."

Roxie glared a little bit, too irritated to even try. "If you're going to be this late, you could at least give some kind of notice." Elise shrugged.

"I sent out a mass text," she said before smirking a little as a small giggle rushed over the group of girls, from all but one, "did you not get it?"

Roxie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, El," she sighed as the other two girls in the room quickly cleared out. "What song are we going with today..."

"Don't worry, sweetie, you know it," Elise said, grinning. "I might even let you have a solo of your own, little Warblerette." Roxie turned, her eyes bright at the phrase. "That is, if we do this at competition." Roxie sighed, turning back into the room with the group of girls to set her things back down before she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Jumping a bit, she smiled, seeing her friend and roommate, Ariel. She was a sweet blonde girl, a junior just like herself, and the only friend Roxie felt she had in the group.

"I'm sorry, Rox, I really thought she texted you," she said softly, making sure the other girls couldn't hear as the dropped their things in all corners of the study. Roxie shrugged, giving her friend a small smile.

"Not your fault," she replied quietly. "Besides, look on the bright side. Just a few more months and we're finally rid of the Wicked Witch of the-"

Roxie was cut off by the sound of the other girls beginning to vocalize and manipulate their voices, beginning the song they were intending. To someone who'd never heard the Dalton Academy Warblers, the Dynamiques could sound well rounded and wonderful. However it was all mechanical, with nothing interesting about it. And as Roxie's ears adjusted to what the song was, she almost wanted to gauge her eyes out, but she forced herself to vocalize along with the other altos as Elise began to sing.

_"I've got a new life, you would hardly recognize me, I'm so glad..."_

Roxie rolled her eyes as she continued through, eyeing over to Ariel, a kind of look that screamed 'put me out of my misery' almost louder than the song itself. Roxie leaned against the bookcase, singing along for as long as she could manage, almost until her voice started to drone off. Just as she was about to let her voice fade out and mouth along with the lyrics, Elise grabbed Roxie by the sleeve of her cardigan, pulling her toward the rest of the group and giving her a rough nudge, telling her to sing the bridge.

_"I saw the sign, and it opened up my mind and I am happy now..."_

Roxie strained herself through the weak solo, her voice breaking at the peak of the notes. Her face went hot as Elise rolled her eyes, shoving her back to the bookcase and they wrapped the song up. A number of girls eyed Roxie, and Elise chuckled.

"See, sweetie, this is why we don't give you solos," she said patronizingly, "you always choke."

"I don't always choke," Roxie said indignantly, visibly offended. "That wasn't even close to being in my range and you know that. Honestly, you even raised it a half step so I couldn't hit the high note!"

"There you go again, Roxanne, blaming us for what you can't do," Elise scolded. "You don't need to be so upset that you can't sing very well. I mean, if you'd let me... tutor you..." she continued, brushing hair out of Roxie's face. The younger girl immediately smacked the hand away, scowling.

"I can sing just fine. And don't call me Roxanne," she said, stepping away and grabbing her bag. "Come on, A." Ariel immediately grabbed her own bag, following Roxie out of the study.

"God, I hate them..." Ariel grumbled once she was caught up with her. "Really, we should just quit."

"Believe me, I'd like to, but where else am I going to get to sing? Even if it's just a little bit, it's something..." she sighed, rubbing a little at her eyes sadly.

"Rox, hey... don't let them get to you," she said, stopping her in the hall and grabbing her shoulders. "Really. They're just a bunch of stuck up bitches who don't deserve to have someone like you on the team." Roxie smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Ariel..." she said softly. Ariel smiled a little.

"No prob," she replied, grinning. "I gotta go get my calc test back, so I'll meet you back at the room, okay?" Roxie nodded a little bit, watching her friend turn down the corner to the math wing.

With a defeated sigh, Roxie continued down the hall, just about to put in her headphones before her phone began to vibrate in the pocket of her cardigan. She fumbled with her tangled headphones for a moment before she managed to grab hold of her phone, immediately answering it once she noticed it was Blaine calling. "I'm on my way back from rehearsal right now."

"I don't care," Blaine said quickly, "I just want to ask a favor of you."

Roxie paused, a little stunned at Blaine's remark. He wasn't usually so... to-the-point. "Jesus, slow down. What do you need me for?"

"I need you to do a little bit of, um..." he trailed off, pausing. Roxie swore she heard someone else mutter to him on the other end, "investigating."

She laughed a little bit. "Investigating?" she scoffed. "What do I look like, a detective? I'm not in the mood to play your little spy games, Blaine. I'm on my way back to my room and we can Skype right after I take a shower, okay?"

"Not 'okay', Rox, this is important!" Blaine insisted. He sighed breathlessly before finally muttering. "The Warblers are up to something."

* * *

Alright, and there's chapter one! Take this fic as what you will: I like to consider it a slightly AU alternative to Seasons, in which Roxie never left CCD, but this can also be seen as a sequel, in which she goes back to CCD. But essentially, this story will take place over the timeframe of the Warbler's competitive downfall, and the discovery of their secret. I'm not quite sure how many chapters there will end up being, but we'll see how it goes! Also, the inclusion of the Crawford glee club excites me, and I like to see them a bit like the Bellas from Pitch Perfect, before they realized they sucked.

Song for this chapter was The Sign by Ace of Bass.

Remember, comments are love!


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